Court rules that four British firms didn't have the right to sell their vocal-less re-creations in the US and has ordered them to pay massive damages

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By James Mills

13th January 2018, 12:44 am

Updated: 13th January 2018, 12:48 am

FOUR of Britain’s biggest karaoke firms face ruin after being sued for infringing copyright in the US.

They must cough up hundreds of millions in damages after failing to pay royalties on versions of hits by acts including The Beatles and Oasis.

Karaoke favourites come at a hefty price for Brit firms

UK firms SBI Global, Mr Entertainer, Zoom Entertainments and Music Factory re-create hits without the vocals and sell them on.

But while they paid royalties on sales in the UK and Europe they did not have permission to sell in the US, a court ruled.

They sold most of their tunes in the States via the now-closed Canada-based website TriceraSoft.

But a judge in Nashville, Tennessee, has now ordered the four Brit firms and TriceraSoft to pay a total of £527million in damages to record labels Sony and EMI — along with £870,000 in costs between them.

Getty - Contributor

Sadly karaoke will not be hitting any high notes for Brit firms

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